We Energies News

Friday, February 16, 2018

If you didn’t
make it to 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, don’t worry; there’s still a
chance to be like an Olympian.

Five-time
gold medal-winning retired Olympic speed skater Bonnie Blair shared her recipe
for “Killer Brownies” in the 2016 Wisconsin Heritage Edition of the We Energies
Cookie Book. Now it’s your turn to submit your favorite recipes from a past
Cookie Book along with a favorite holiday tradition or memory. Blair’s favorite
memory of her brownies is how they got their name – her sister tried them and
called them “absolutely killer brownies,” and the name stuck.So, whether
your favorite holiday recipe comes from a vintage Cookie Book, came out just
last year or is Bonnie Blair’s Killer Brownies, submit it along with your
favorite holiday baking memory on our online form.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

To celebrate Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month, the Milwaukee Bucks turned to
the youth of our community at the Feb. 2 game with the New York Knicks at the BMO
Harris Bradley Center. At halftime, first-, second- and third-place winners of
each of the six grade divisions of the We Energies Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Speech Contest were honored on the court.

“Some believe
silence keeps problems at bay, and that if no one speaks them, maybe they’ll the
problem will go away. But no, I stand here to testify that that is not the
way,” she said. Her remarks elaborated on this year’s contest theme, “Take a
stand for truth and justice.”

Fans congratulated
Cawthorn on her encouraging words as she made her way back to her seat in the
arena.

We Energies
has sponsored the speech contest for more than 30 years. This is the fourth
season that the winning students have been honored at a Bucks game.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Our crews are wrapping up their third week of power restoration in Puerto Rico and reporting good progress. They continue to work in the San Juan area, where they’ve been able to restore several neighborhoods that had been without electricity since September.

“The people of Puerto Rico are so appreciative,” said Bruce Sasman, who’s been leading crews from both We Energies and sister company Wisconsin Public Service. “Everywhere we go, people are waving to us and giving us a thumbs up. When we restore power, people are coming out of their homes, crying with joy and hugging our line mechanics.”

Crews have been staying in a hotel that sustained hurricane damage and remains closed to the public. Their day starts with breakfast at 5 a.m. Crews are then bused to a staging area to get their trucks and equipment. They’re typically heading to their worksites by 6:45 a.m. and then spend about 12 hours working in the field. They debrief around 6:45 p.m., take the bus back to the hotel, eat dinner and go to bed ‒ for six weeks.

“It’s exhausting, but the crews are getting encouragement from the residents of Puerto Rico,” said Sasman. “That’s their motivation.” Listen to the cheers from school children after crews restored power at their school:

Aside from the overwhelming support from Puerto Ricans, our crews also have received compliments from line crews from Con Edison, an energy company based in New York City. On more than one occasion, Con Edison workers have told our employees how impressed they are by their determination to repair outages and restore customers in all circumstances.

“They actually said, ‘We’ve seen their abilities, and we want them to be working with us,’” Sasman said. “People think we really do a good job. People really want to work with us. They hold us in very high regard, and that’s really nice to see.”

Students pose with our crews after power is restored at their school.

Residents pose with our crews. Note photo bomber on roof.

The work conditions have been challenging and dangerous. Sasman relayed details of one job that took workers four days to complete. There was more than a mile of cable to restring on mountainous terrain. The crew worked along a narrow, one-lane road which had to be shut down to ensure workers’ safety.

“While a language barrier exists, the compassion barrier does not,” said Sasman. “People are opening up schools and churches for us, feeding our crews. It’s emotional, and it’s very rewarding.”

Friday, January 19, 2018

As our crews wrap up their first week on the ground in Puerto Rico, their hard work is being rewarded by the grateful residents of the island. Many residents are coming out of their homes to greet our workers and shake their hands. One resident, a World War II veteran, even delivered cold water and cookies to our crews.

Restoring power has been an emotional experience for both the residents and crews. “Our crews are really determined to get the locals’ lights on,” said Bruce Sasman, crew supervisor.

Some people have been without power for more than three months since Hurricane Maria hit the island. Current estimates suggest more than 40 percent of residents are still in the dark.

“Even with all the challenges of tight spaces and jungle-type vegetation, the crews have gotten to be very innovative,” said Sasman. Crews have navigated the island’s narrow streets and rugged terrain and come upon challenges that they have never seen before, like navigating close encounters with iguanas at the top of power poles.

Employee Kevin Kosnicki works around an iguana.

Kevin Fletcher, president of our Wisconsin utilities, said of our crews, “I’m extremely proud of our crews and I think they are going to do a tremendous job. They are going to set a standard. Our folks are known for doing high-quality work from a safety and professional standpoint, and I know they will stand out among the other gentlemen and ladies who are down there as well.”

Puerto Rico residents have been taking to our social media pages to express their thanks:

At this
year’s annual Girls Empowered by Math and Science (GEMS) Conference at
UW-Parkside, keynote speaker and NASA engineer Florence Tan spoke to the
importance of gravity assists – ways scientists further propel a craft along
its trajectory in space missions. She explained to the more than 200 Racine-area
middle school girls in attendance that this can be a metaphor for life; that
their teachers, parents, inspirations and even challenges act as “gravity
assists” along the trajectory of their aspirations and careers, helping them to
move forward.

Tan’s words
inspired students to take on a day of workshops with topics ranging from
forensic science to coding to the various STEM careers available in the energy industry.
Along with other organizations, We Energies employees hosted workshops in which
students viewed food demonstrations of everyday science, built and designed
bridges, made pencils out of graphite and clay, and built their own batteries
from household objects.

Alison
Castronovo and Melissa Schultz, We Energies employees in the environmental
department, hosted the “Penny Power” workshop. They helped students construct
batteries out of pennies, washers and mounting board soaked in a water, salt
and vinegar solution to familiarize the students with current electricity. They
also led an experiment with static electricity that involved balloons, wool and
cereal.

Students used household objects to explore how electricity works.

“This year,
we decided to highlight what electricity is, how it is made and distributed,
and how it can be stored,” said Castronovo, who has led a workshop at the
conference for the past three of its five years. She values this work because
of the importance of encouraging women in her field. “I recently read that the
energy industry is among the least gender-diverse industries in the United
States. It’s important for our company to support girls’ involvement in math
and science education and potentially spark an interest in our field to help
close that gap.”

Castronovo
echoed Tan’s statements as her trajectory to being an environmental engineer had
gravity assists of its own. She credits her father who was a chemistry teacher,
her sixth-grade teacher and an internship that provided her with real-world energy
company experience with helping her solidify her decision to work in the energy
sector on environmental projects.

And now,
Castronovo is paying it forward by taking her role as a gravity assist in the
girls’ journey seriously. “The GEMS Conference gives us an opportunity to interface
with the middle school girls, encourage them to stay engaged in math and
science and to be positive role models,” she said.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

In late November,
a snowy owl was found in the parking lot at our headquarters in downtown
Milwaukee. A month and a half later, the owl was released in Port Washington
thanks to efforts of the Wisconsin Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation
Center.

The owl, named
Iglaak (an Inuit word meaning “traveler” or “visitor”) by the Wisconsin Humane
Society, was treated for parasites, malnourishment and a fractured toe then
released into the wild by Scott Diehl, wildlife director at the Wisconsin Humane
Society.

“I tossed
Iglaak into the air and let him go,” Diehl said. “He took off like a champ,
flew and flew then soared and then had a nice landing out in the field.”

Diehl added
that while it was a bit chilly for the few spectators and media crews, the
temperature was perfect for Iglaak. “It’s never
too cold to release a snowy owl,” he said.

Diehl and his
team choose the date and location for these types of releases carefully,
factoring in the bird’s health, weather and ideal habitat for the release to be
successful. The site in Port Washington, the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, is
a large expanse of open space with tundra-like features and gave Iglaak access
to the shoreline for optimal waterfowl hunting.

Many snowy
owls have been spotted in Wisconsin and across the Northeast and Midwest this
winter. This phenomenon of increased snowy owl sightings is called an irruption.
During an irruption, more owls fly farther south than normal. Most of the owls
are juveniles in search of food and habitat.

In November, We Energies employees found Iglaak in a company parking lot and contactedthe Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s really
fascinating what’s occurring,” said Mike Grisar, principal environmental
consultant for We Energies. “Just before the new year, there were over 200
individual snowies sighted in Wisconsin. We know this because of surveys
conducted by Project Snowstorm that include putting transmitters on and tagging
the birds. To have one show up on our doorstep, in our parking lot, was really
an exciting day.”

Grisar
recalls when snowy owl sightings were rare. He notes that people who research
snowy owls in depth don’t yet know why these irruptions occur, but speculations
include an increase in population, or the result of laws that make it illegal
to kill birds of prey.

Through his
work, Diehl has seen four snowy owls this year, including Iglaak, who is the
only one to survive.

“The effort
to rehabilitate any creature is a community effort,” Diehl said. “It starts
with those who report the animal, the volunteers who transport it, and the
people and organizations who support our work and help us follow through on the
original compassion of saving the bird.”

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Three months
after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, more than 40 percent of residents are
still in the dark. Thousands of power restoration workers from U.S. energy
companies are answering the island’s need for assistance, including about 35 We
Energies and 25 Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) employees. The two companies
will work together to respond to the widespread loss of power in Puerto Rico. They
depart for an estimated six-week assignment in the San Juan area this Saturday,
Jan. 13, from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.

Supervisors
from We Energies and WPS already have made the trip to the island and are
preparing for crews to arrive. Vehicles and equipment from both companies were
sent by barge earlier this month. Crews plan to work 12- to 16-hour days
restoring power to the island.

While they face
uncertainty, unfamiliar conditions and terrain, and devastation of
infrastructure like they’ve never seen, the employees are excited to answer the
call to service.

We Energies and WPS supervisors departed for Puerto Rico from Milwaukee
on Jan. 9.

“An opportunity like this – to go to an island
and help restore power – has never come up before,” said Craig Kahoun,
operations manager – WPS, in an interview with a Green Bay news station.

While crews
from We Energies and WPS responded to Hurricane Irma in Florida and Georgia
last year and to other hurricanes in years past, this is the first time
the companies have performed restoration efforts outside of the continental U.S.

Peter Klafka,
operations supervisor – We Energies, was interviewed by a Milwaukee news
station and highlighted the importance of safety while on this trip. “There’re
going to be a lot of hazardous conditions we’re going to encounter down there.
The crews’ safety is the most important and the biggest challenge we’re going
to have to face,” he said.

“Everything
we’ll work on there – it’s devastated,” Kahoun said. “So we’re going to have a
lot of reconstruction.” The hurricane caused extensive damage to electric
infrastructure in Puerto Rico. Additionally, accessing areas in need of
restoration is further complicated by the island’s narrow streets and rugged
terrain.

The crews
are willing to take on all of these challenges. Chris
Vanlaarhoven, aWe
Energies lead line mechanic in Iron Mountain, is ready to start improving
conditions for the people of Puerto Rico: “It’s a good feeling on our part, and
I’m sure the people will be very happy down there once we turn the power back
on for them.”